Heathrow Runway Given Go Ahead To Tackle Flight Delays

The UK government has announced today that it has given the green light for a new runway for Heathrow. The airport, which is the UK’s busiest and largest is stretched to capacity, with planes preparing to depart, in many instances being forced to queue for long periods and planes attempting to land, having to wait for available slots – both instances which cause flight delays and cancellations for passengers.

Ministers in Theresa May’s cabinet approved the decision at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Construction won’t begin until 2021 and before then a public consultation on the expansion will be held and MP’s will vote in the House Of Commons on the decision in 2017.

The construction of the new runway may also be held up by legal complaints concerning noise and environmental issues, plus the owners of 720 homes that will be demolished to make way for the new runway are likely to drive a hard bargain in order to receive as much money as possible for their homes. One of these is British Airways, whose headquarters in the village of Harmondsworth, will be demolished. Discover How To Claim Compensation By Using Our Flight Delay Letter.

Sky News was reporting that the consensus from most UK businesses about the runway expansion was positive:

However, for most businesses, Tuesday’s decision will be one of relief. It is often forgotten that, during all the debate over passengers and the need for Britain to have more air routes to growing economies like China, some 40% of all traffic at Heathrow is cargo.

The the new runway should also tackle the issue of flight delays, which may be minimized in the future.

It is subject to the same delays and hold-ups as business and holidaying travellers – hold-ups that do just as much, if not more, harm to the UK’s growth potential.

Those hoping to rebalance the UK economy, Theresa May and Philip Hammond foremost among them, know that, if Britain is to export more goods, a third runway at Heathrow is probably essential. As, in time, will be second runways at Gatwick and at Birmingham Airport.